diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index b26fdbbd..6dca2122 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -1,12 +1,74 @@
+#language: rust
+#rust:
+#  - stable
+#  - beta
+#  - nightly
+#script:
+#  - cargo build --verbose
+#  - cargo doc
+#  - cargo test --verbose
+#  - if [ "$TRAVIS_RUST_VERSION" = "nightly" ]; then
+#      cargo bench --verbose;
+#    fi
+
 language: rust
-rust:
-  - stable
-  - beta
-  - nightly
+cache: cargo
+
+env:
+  global:
+    - PROJECT_NAME=xrep
+matrix:
+  include:
+    # Nightly channel
+    - os: osx
+      rust: nightly
+      env: TARGET=i686-apple-darwin
+    - os: osx
+      rust: nightly
+      env: TARGET=x86_64-apple-darwin
+    - os: linux
+      rust: nightly
+      env: TARGET=i686-unknown-linux-musl
+    - os: linux
+      rust: nightly
+      env: TARGET=x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
+
+before_install:
+  - export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.cargo/bin"
+
+install:
+  - bash ci/install.sh
+
 script:
-  - cargo build --verbose
-  - cargo doc
-  - cargo test --verbose
-  - if [ "$TRAVIS_RUST_VERSION" = "nightly" ]; then
-      cargo bench --verbose;
-    fi
+  - bash ci/script.sh
+
+before_deploy:
+  - bash ci/before_deploy.sh
+
+deploy:
+  provider: releases
+  api_key:
+    secure: aDT53aTIcl6RLcd4/StnKT55LgJyjiCtsmu1Byy0TIEtP4ZfNhsHwCbqyZT6TLownLJPi5wLM1WRncGKNYQelFDk/mUA8YugcFDfiSN//ZZ8KLAQiI+PX6JCrFYr/ZmP4dJzFWS1hPsr/X0gdbrlb3kuQG7BI9gH3GY4yTsLNiY=
+  file_glob: true
+  file: ${PROJECT_NAME}-${TRAVIS_TAG}-${TARGET}.*
+  # don't delete the artifacts from previous phases
+  skip_cleanup: true
+  # deploy when a new tag is pushed
+  on:
+    # channel to use to produce the release artifacts
+    # NOTE make sure you only release *once* per target
+    # TODO you may want to pick a different channel
+    condition: $TRAVIS_RUST_VERSION = nightly
+    tags: true
+
+branches:
+  only:
+    # Pushes and PR to the master branch
+    - master
+    # IMPORTANT Ruby regex to match tags. Required, or travis won't trigger deploys when a new tag
+    # is pushed. This regex matches semantic versions like v1.2.3-rc4+2016.02.22
+    - /^\d+\.\d+\.\d+.*$/
+
+notifications:
+  email:
+    on_success: never
diff --git a/ci/before_deploy.sh b/ci/before_deploy.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b18c9b61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/before_deploy.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# `before_deploy` phase: here we package the build artifacts
+
+set -ex
+
+. $(dirname $0)/utils.sh
+
+# Generate artifacts for release
+mk_artifacts() {
+    RUSTFLAGS="-C target-feature=+ssse3" cargo build --target $TARGET --release --features simd-accel
+}
+
+mk_tarball() {
+    # create a "staging" directory
+    local td=$(mktempd)
+    local out_dir=$(pwd)
+
+    # TODO update this part to copy the artifacts that make sense for your project
+    # NOTE All Cargo build artifacts will be under the 'target/$TARGET/{debug,release}'
+    cp target/$TARGET/release/xrep $td
+
+    pushd $td
+
+    # release tarball will look like 'rust-everywhere-v1.2.3-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz'
+    tar czf $out_dir/${PROJECT_NAME}-${TRAVIS_TAG}-${TARGET}.tar.gz *
+
+    popd
+    rm -r $td
+}
+
+main() {
+    mk_artifacts
+    mk_tarball
+}
+
+main
diff --git a/ci/install.sh b/ci/install.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3b3f28d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+# `install` phase: install stuff needed for the `script` phase
+
+set -ex
+
+. $(dirname $0)/utils.sh
+
+install_c_toolchain() {
+    case $TARGET in
+        aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu)
+            sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+                 gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu libc6-arm64-cross libc6-dev-arm64-cross
+            ;;
+        *)
+            # For other targets, this is handled by addons.apt.packages in .travis.yml
+            ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+install_rustup() {
+    # uninstall the rust toolchain installed by travis, we are going to use rustup
+    sh ~/rust/lib/rustlib/uninstall.sh
+
+    curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y --default-toolchain=$TRAVIS_RUST_VERSION
+
+    rustc -V
+    cargo -V
+}
+
+install_standard_crates() {
+    if [ $(host) != "$TARGET" ]; then
+        rustup target add $TARGET
+    fi
+}
+
+configure_cargo() {
+    local prefix=$(gcc_prefix)
+
+    if [ ! -z $prefix ]; then
+        # information about the cross compiler
+        ${prefix}gcc -v
+
+        # tell cargo which linker to use for cross compilation
+        mkdir -p .cargo
+        cat >>.cargo/config <<EOF
+[target.$TARGET]
+linker = "${prefix}gcc"
+EOF
+    fi
+}
+
+main() {
+    install_c_toolchain
+    install_rustup
+    install_standard_crates
+    configure_cargo
+
+    # TODO if you need to install extra stuff add it here
+}
+
+main
diff --git a/ci/script.sh b/ci/script.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b93c686d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/script.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# `script` phase: you usually build, test and generate docs in this phase
+
+set -ex
+
+. $(dirname $0)/utils.sh
+
+# NOTE Workaround for rust-lang/rust#31907 - disable doc tests when cross compiling
+# This has been fixed in the nightly channel but it would take a while to reach the other channels
+disable_cross_doctests() {
+    if [ $(host) != "$TARGET" ] && [ "$TRAVIS_RUST_VERSION" = "stable" ]; then
+        if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "osx" ]; then
+            brew install gnu-sed --default-names
+        fi
+
+        find src -name '*.rs' -type f | xargs sed -i -e 's:\(//.\s*```\):\1 ignore,:g'
+    fi
+}
+
+# TODO modify this function as you see fit
+# PROTIP Always pass `--target $TARGET` to cargo commands, this makes cargo output build artifacts
+# to target/$TARGET/{debug,release} which can reduce the number of needed conditionals in the
+# `before_deploy`/packaging phase
+run_test_suite() {
+    case $TARGET in
+        # configure emulation for transparent execution of foreign binaries
+        aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu)
+            export QEMU_LD_PREFIX=/usr/aarch64-linux-gnu
+            ;;
+        arm*-unknown-linux-gnueabihf)
+            export QEMU_LD_PREFIX=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf
+            ;;
+        *)
+            ;;
+    esac
+
+    if [ ! -z "$QEMU_LD_PREFIX" ]; then
+        # Run tests on a single thread when using QEMU user emulation
+        export RUST_TEST_THREADS=1
+    fi
+
+    cargo build --target $TARGET --verbose
+    cargo test --target $TARGET
+
+    # sanity check the file type
+    file target/$TARGET/debug/xrep
+}
+
+main() {
+    disable_cross_doctests
+    run_test_suite
+}
+
+main
diff --git a/ci/utils.sh b/ci/utils.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..32c7de37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/utils.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+mktempd() {
+    echo $(mktemp -d 2>/dev/null || mktemp -d -t tmp)
+}
+
+host() {
+    case "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" in
+        linux)
+            echo x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
+            ;;
+        osx)
+            echo x86_64-apple-darwin
+            ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+gcc_prefix() {
+    case "$TARGET" in
+        aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu)
+            echo aarch64-linux-gnu-
+            ;;
+        arm*-gnueabihf)
+            echo arm-linux-gnueabihf-
+            ;;
+        *)
+            return
+            ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+dobin() {
+    [ -z $MAKE_DEB ] && die 'dobin: $MAKE_DEB not set'
+    [ $# -lt 1 ] && die "dobin: at least one argument needed"
+
+    local f prefix=$(gcc_prefix)
+    for f in "$@"; do
+        install -m0755 $f $dtd/debian/usr/bin/
+        ${prefix}strip -s $dtd/debian/usr/bin/$(basename $f)
+    done
+}
+
+architecture() {
+    case $1 in
+        x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu|x86_64-unknown-linux-musl)
+            echo amd64
+            ;;
+        i686-unknown-linux-gnu|i686-unknown-linux-musl)
+            echo i386
+            ;;
+        arm*-unknown-linux-gnueabihf)
+            echo armhf
+            ;;
+        *)
+            die "architecture: unexpected target $TARGET"
+            ;;
+    esac
+}
diff --git a/src/sys.rs b/src/sys.rs
index ae65f8e8..838f3541 100644
--- a/src/sys.rs
+++ b/src/sys.rs
@@ -5,9 +5,6 @@ redirected to a file? etc... We use this information to tweak various default
 configuration parameters such as colors and match formatting.
 */
 
-use std::fs::{File, Metadata};
-use std::io;
-
 use libc;
 
 #[cfg(unix)]
@@ -43,97 +40,3 @@ pub fn stdout_is_atty() -> bool {
         kernel32::GetConsoleMode(handle, &mut out) != 0
     }
 }
-
-// Probably everything below isn't actually needed. ---AG
-
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn metadata(fd: libc::c_int) -> Result<Metadata, io::Error> {
-    use std::os::unix::io::{FromRawFd, IntoRawFd};
-
-    let f = unsafe { File::from_raw_fd(fd) };
-    let md = f.metadata();
-    // Be careful to transfer ownership back to a simple descriptor. Dropping
-    // the File itself would close the descriptor, which would be quite bad!
-    drop(f.into_raw_fd());
-    md
-}
-
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn stdin_is_file() -> bool {
-    metadata(libc::STDIN_FILENO)
-        .map(|md| md.file_type().is_file())
-        .unwrap_or(false)
-}
-
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn stdout_is_file() -> bool {
-    metadata(libc::STDOUT_FILENO)
-        .map(|md| md.file_type().is_file())
-        .unwrap_or(false)
-}
-
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn stdin_is_char_device() -> bool {
-    use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt;
-
-    metadata(libc::STDIN_FILENO)
-        .map(|md| md.file_type().is_char_device())
-        .unwrap_or(false)
-}
-
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn stdout_is_char_device() -> bool {
-    use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt;
-
-    metadata(libc::STDOUT_FILENO)
-        .map(|md| md.file_type().is_char_device())
-        .unwrap_or(false)
-}
-
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn stdin_is_fifo() -> bool {
-    use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt;
-
-    metadata(libc::STDIN_FILENO)
-        .map(|md| md.file_type().is_fifo())
-        .unwrap_or(false)
-}
-
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn stdout_is_fifo() -> bool {
-    use std::os::unix::fs::FileTypeExt;
-
-    metadata(libc::STDOUT_FILENO)
-        .map(|md| md.file_type().is_fifo())
-        .unwrap_or(false)
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn stdin_is_file() -> bool {
-    false
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn stdout_is_file() -> bool {
-    false
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn stdin_is_char_device() -> bool {
-    false
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn stdout_is_char_device() -> bool {
-    false
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn stdin_is_fifo() -> bool {
-    false
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn stdout_is_fifo() -> bool {
-    false
-}